My job

[vaneramos]

From thefridayfive:

1. What job do you have, and why do you like/hate it? I'm a volunteer at Out On The Shelf. I like having a set of procedures to follow, knowing what is expected of me, and knowing my work is appreciated. The library is more orderly than my personal life, and it's a relaxing place to spend time. I also enjoy the spontaneity of responding to visitors' requests and enquiries. It feels good to offer a valuable service: a resource library for queer adults and youth, and a safe place for them to come and hang out. It's run entirely by volunteers, and the other staff are committed, literate, enjoyable people.
   
2. As a kid, what did you want to be when you "grew up?" The first field I remember investigating seriously, in about grade seven, was botany. During high school I wanted to become an architect. But I have been trying to write novels since I was in grade two. Writing was always the thing I wanted to do most, but it was never presented to me as a viable profession.
   
3. Is the job you have now anything like what you imagined as a kid? I liked helping in the library in elementary school, and practically lived there in high school. I have always liked libraries, but never considered working in one until recently.
   
4. Do you have a five-year career plan? To be working part-time in a bookstore or library, and deriving income from freelance writing for magazines and newspapers. I would like to have published a novel.
   
5. In order to get the job of your dreams, is there anything you wouldn't do? Why? I will not work in a rabbit warren or large hierarchical organization where I have no choice but to write what other people tell me to write, where creativity is dead. I've already gone crazy that way once.

Comments

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I suppose our situations have put us both in the position of wondering how we want to spend the rest of our working lives, and I'm not surprised you're coming up with some of the same answers. A research librarian would be a nice long term goal to have. Whether it's practical or not, I don't know, but I hope you find your way forward.